Restarting
by cheerleading847
Summary: AU. Peeta and Katniss were childhood friends, but suddenly drifted apart. Katniss is now working in the Mellark Family Bakery, will it bring up any feeling? Can they restart their friendship or will it possibly mean more? Katniss/Peeta, Annie/Finnick, hinting Gale/Madge. Rated T for now, but could change due to possible lemons.
1. Chapter 1

**This is an idea I came up with at 1am last night.**

**I just started typing and this is where it led me. Give me your thoughts, if I should continue. But I would like to clear some things up before you read:**

**1. Katniss's father did not die.**

**2. Peeta's mother is not a bitch.**

**3. In this world, Gale Hawthorne is NOT in love with Katniss, nor will he ever be.**

**4. The time line may confuse some of you, but it is not corresponding with the original books. It is relating to the certain time period, which would make Katniss being born in 1995, making her seventeen in the "present". **

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_2000_

"Could you pass the blue crayon please?"

Katniss Everdeen sneaked a peek at the boy in the red plaid button down shirt who sat across the table from her. He was concentrating very hard on the picture in front of him, but looked up into those pair of grey eyes and nodded. He picked up his pack of 64 crayons (with a sharpener in the back) and twisted his lips to the side in concentration.

"Bright blue or dark blue?" The question was simple, but Katniss's heart leapt into her chest at his response. Maybe because this was the first person to talk to her on the first day of school.

She chose bright blue, because that is the color of his eyes. She has never seen eyes that bright before in her entire life.

"You're nice, I like you."

Peeta Mellark felt himself blush a little bit, but he gave her the widest no-front-teeth smile he could muster up. They introduced themselves. "Best friends forever?"

Katniss mirrored his smile and nodded enthusiastically.

He dumped all sixty-four of his crayons in a plastic tray nearby to make it official.

_2002_

"We're gonna play house," Katniss announced. "I'm gonna be the mom and you're gonna be the dad."

The two were in Katniss's living room, sitting on a blanket that was supposed to be their "pretend" house. Katniss picked up her sister, Prim's baby doll and continued, "And we have a baby girl named Isabelle and a dog named-

"Wait!" Peeta stops, holding on to Katniss's arm. "We have to get married first."

Within minutes, Katniss made her mother dress her up like the beautiful bride she was meant to be, complete with bright red lipstick and the whitest dress she owned. Katniss was wearing her own clothes, but wearing her mother's make-up and jewelry. The earrings she wore dropped down to her shoulders and her hair was let out of its usual two braids. Naturally, her hair is wavy and beautiful. At least, that's what Peeta thought.

Peeta was sporting one of Mr. Everdeen good coats. The coat was too big for him, but he wore it proud.

The ceremony consisted of exchanging "pretend" rings and walking down a "pretend" aisle. Katniss's parents laughed silently at their daughter and her best friend, knowing that one day this could very well happen.

When it came time to kiss, they covered their mouths, and kissed each other with their hands in the way. "I can't kiss you, you're a boy," Katniss stated.

The two best friends continued to play their game for the next hour, before Peeta decided he couldn't wait until they could play like that for real.

_2005_

"Did you hear?" Madge Undersee whispered to Katniss in the cafeteria. Katniss hardly talks to Madge, so she's curious as to what she is talking about.

Katniss was a little confused as to why they were whispering, but she went along with it. "No, what's going on?"

"Peeta and Delly Cartwright are going out."

Katniss immediately felt like someone stabbed her in the gut. She had to hear about this from Madge, but not Peeta himself.

She was angry and confused. Mostly angry, though. Last night, Katniss and Peeta got into a fight and that doesn't happen often. He's her best friend, why would they fight? He kept noticing the development of other girls in their grade. She made a big deal about how disrespectful it was to talk about girls in that way, when really, she just flat out didn't like the fact that he was looking at other girls.

Madge called out after Katniss's retreating figure. Katniss was running, and she was running fast.

Her target was sitting on the lunch bench surrounded by many people. Peeta and Delly were holding hands. Katniss's eyes narrowed in on their hands during her brisk walk towards the group.

Gale Hawthorne noticed her first and nudged Peeta to look. He stood up and let go of Delly's hand to approach her. "Katniss, I have to talk to y-"

Katniss didn't even pay attention, too focused on her anger and the task she was about to perform.

Katniss finally reached the table full of Peeta's friends. She flung her small body over the table, punching Delly Cartwright square in the face, with a satisfying crunch of her nose.

_2009_

It was the last day of eighth grade.

Peeta and Katniss have not talked in years. She made new friends throughout this past year, befriending Annie Cresta, Finnick Odair, and Madge Undersee. They had their own group that they were perfectly content with. Finnick is secretly in love with Annie and Annie is secretly in love with Finnick. Everyone knows it, except the two of them. Madge Undersee has always had a thing for Gale Hawthorne, but she knows he will probably never give her the time of day.

"What do you plan to do this summer?" Annie asks the group innocently during their last period class. History is the only class all four of them have similar and it's the last time they will not only see this classroom, but see this school ever again.

"I'm finally moving closer to town," Katniss smiled. She hated the fact that she lives on the outskirts of District 12. It's horrible, especially having to walk to school every day. She would rather walk than ride the horrible bus.

The school bell rang. Junior high was over.

Katniss walked out in front of the school with her friends while they waited on rides. Katniss decided to sit and keep them company until they all left, and then she would begin her walk home with her little sister, Prim. She scowled at all the pathetic sixth graders skipping and singing songs. Blond hair interfered with Katniss's peripheral vision. Her neck snapped in the direction of the source.

Peeta Mellark darted to a bench outside of the school, where all of his friends usually met up. He sat on the actual table and propped his legs on the seat. He was talking to Gale and Marvel, nodding enthusiastically when appropriate.

Their eyes met.

Invisible tension passed before Katniss smiled at him. Peeta nodded his head at her, returning the friendly smile. Three years of silence was broken that day. When Katniss's friends left, she made her way toward Peeta's group.

"Hey Peeta," she stood in front of him.

He squinted his eyes from the sun to put a face to that familiar voice. Marvel raised an eyebrow to Gale. In return, Gale shrugged. Gale is really the only one of Peeta's close friends who knows about Katniss and Peeta's previous close friendship. It's not that it was a secret, it just went unnoticed by many people in their grade. I'm sure if it was pointed out to some, they would recall the two sitting together at lunch when they were little.

"Hey," he swallowed, tightening his grip on his yearbook. This made his palms sweat.

Katniss smiled sweetly. "I hope you have a great summer." Just as fast as she came, she left, leaving Peeta with sweaty palms, a tightened stomach, and a confused Marvel.

_Present - 2012_

Katniss Everdeen swallows audibly as she approaches Mellark Family Bakery. It is a tall building because the upstairs is the home of the baker and his family. She must have stood on the street for hours, nervous as hell. Years ago, she would spend days over here without a care in the world. But, it was different then. There was no awkwardness between Katniss and the baker's son.

She huffed and walked through the door that had hung a "closed" sign behind it.

She had to remind herself that she is doing absolutely nothing wrong by being here. She is here for professional reasons and that is it. She needs a summer job and the baker was more than willing to offer her a job at the bakery. At first it was an offer, but after declining, he resorted to out-right begging. Katniss later realized that this is because Rye is moving out for college in District 9, she believes. He won't be here to run the bakery either, so the baker needs a last minute replacement from outside of the family, which has never happened before.

Stepping into the little shop, Katniss is brought back to years ago when Peeta and her would running amuck throughout the entire store, accidentally knocking over muffin racks and licking the frosting off decorated cakes. The two of them certainly gave the Mellark family a run for their money.

It's 6:57AM. The sun has barely risen over the only mountain in District 12.

She comes face to face with Mr. Mellark. "Katniss!" He bellows and gives her a hug. "Ready for your first day on the job?"

Katniss nodded and looked around nervously. She really hopes Peeta is not here. If anything, she wants to put off seeing him for a little bit. She is not sure if his father told him about her employment at the bakery. She slightly recalls the fact that Peeta has the ability to sleep all day, which calms her. Only a little, though.

The baker shows Katniss how to clock in and run the cash register. He doesn't show her how to bake because that job is usually reserved for him or Peeta, the only other baker in the house.

Mr. Mellark returns to the back to start making some daily loaves of bread. Katniss is able to deal with the first few customers and successfully works the cash register. She thought the day was going by very fast until she heard the faint sound of someone walking around upstairs. Last time she checked, Peeta's room is right above the bakery. The clock read 10:38AM and she smirked at her knowledge of how Peeta would sleep in.

She froze at the sound of someone running downstairs. Silently, she curses herself. Years ago, she was able to go up to him and start a conversation, even after their friendship had ended. She was never one to hold back on thoughts or be shy, but when it comes to the baker's son, it's an exception.

"Hey dad!" Peeta said, eagerly, still in the back and has not seen Katniss in the front yet.

"Morning son," his father answered, hauling something up on a higher shelf.

"Shouldn't you be manning the register?" Peeta asked, propping himself on a nearby table, clearly confused.

Katniss felt like crawling inside a hole and never coming out. She knew this was a mistake! She should have never taken this job. She could have found somewhere else to work, she could have asked Delly Cartwright's family for a job at their clothing store. She winced once she remember that Delly is a little scared of her since that dreadful day in fifth grade.

"Uh-" the baker stammered, "I hired someone," he mumbled.

Peeta wasted no time asking. He rocketed down from his seat and stood in front of the small window in the wall that opened up to the front of the bakery.

"Katniss?"

Katniss suddenly unfroze and whipped around to face the music. To her surprise, his face broke out in the goofiest smile she has ever seen on him. Her heart rate became irregular and the nape of her neck started to sweat a little, but she returned the smile. Peeta's bright blue eyes shined as he looked her over, wearing the cutest little Mellark's Bakery polo shirt and apron.

Katniss's regret towards taking the job suddenly started to melt away as she looked at Peeta.

Years of memories flooded back into both of their minds in a matter of seconds.

The baker cleared his throat, sending Katniss to greet the next customer that came through the door. Peeta, on the other hand, still fixated his gaze on Katniss, watching her work. He shook his head and laughed silently to himself, ignoring the knowing look his father was giving him. He retreated upstairs with the biggest shit-eating grin plastered on his face.


	2. Chapter 2

**I'm not as confident about this chapter as I was for the first one. The second one is always the hardest to write. :(**

**Anyway, I'm ALWAYS open for suggestions. If you have ideas for a scene in this story, hit me up.**

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Katniss scowls at herself in the mirror. The bags under her eyes have become more prominent over the past few nights from sleeping less than six hours and her skin tone seems to be getting paler at an alarming rate.

She orders breakfast at the bakery since there is no food in her house. The baker offers her to eat upstairs in their family dining room. Reluctantly, she does so. She hasn't been in the upstairs of the bakery in forever.

There are pictures everywhere. As soon as you hit the hallway, there are pictures of all the Mellark family. Some pictures consisted of Katniss, even. Katniss and Peeta making cookies in the bakery, Katniss is smiling sweetly to the camera, while Peeta holds raw cookie dough in his hand and makes some sort of contorted face that resembles a combination of excitement and constipation. She turns her head to find another one. It is of Peeta, Katniss, and Peeta's late brother, Steven. They were all in the car, Steven holding up a 'peace' sign with his fingers with his lips curled. Peeta had his tongue out and eyes crossed. Katniss was looking at the both of them, face lit up and laughing.

Her stomach drops and she almost immediately does not feel like eating anymore.

She vaguely remembers being in the hospital with Peeta and his family when Steven was pronounced dead.

Just like that. A handful of pills, and he's gone. His whole family was grieving, not that they still aren't, but it hit Peeta the worse because he's the one that found him.

Katniss swallowed the lump in her throat and looked at other picture, but her thoughts were still consumed of the memories of Steven Mellark. He was seventeen, Peeta being ten at the time. Steven was going to take over the family business, he had his whole life ahead of him. No one really knew what was wrong, nor did they suspect Steven of doing something this terrible.

But he did.

She remembers how he would always tease Katniss about her braids or threaten to cut them off. He would always take Katniss and Peeta to the movies, but made sure to cut a joke about the two of them making out. Not that the two knew what that was, anyway. She remembers Mrs. Mellark calling Katniss on her house phone, begging for her to come over because Peeta would not leave his room. The woman knew that Katniss was the only one who could pull Peeta from under his covers. That was the first and only time she had seen Peeta cry.

Before she knows it, Katniss is standing in front of Peeta's room. The door hasn't changed much. She sees that he finally got a lock. She laughs silently when she remembers the first time she came over, there was a "no girls allowed" sign up, but he took it down just for her.

She backs away from the hallway and decides to go downstairs. Too many memories for such a short period of time.

Upon entering the bakery kitchen, Katniss smells red velvet cake.

"Oh my god, it smells wonderful in here," she tells Mr. Mellark. "How do you manage to bake so much, but not eat it?"

The baker grins at her, carefully taking the cake out of the oven. "Years of practice, but sometime I fail," he pats his round belly. She realized that Peeta and his father have the same colored eyes. Peeta's are much bluer, though.

Katniss grabs her register and greets customers as they come in. When no one is inside, she goes around the dainty shop and straightens out the breads or tightens the wrappers to keep the bread fresh. And on days that it's really slow, she is asked to sweep and dust the shelves.

The creaking on the top floor sends her heart down to the pit of her stomach.

Seconds later, Peeta greeted her from the doorway that separates the bakery from the kitchen. "Good morning, Katniss."

She jumped slightly at his voice. "Oh, hi."

He disappeared into the kitchen and Katniss tries to regulate her breathing.

She finds it hard to believe that she woke up this morning thinking today wouldn't be interesting.

It's lunch time. Katniss packed a sandwich from her house. She turned the sign over in the bakery saying that it was closed for one hour. She thinks it's stupid to have a sign out because everyone in town knows the hours of the only bakery in town.

"Don't pull out your sandwich. Let me guess," Peeta declares, watching Katniss pull out a sandwich bag. He pretends to think for a second. "Turkey wheat bread, no cheese. Extra mayo."

He smiles in victory as she huffs in annoyance. Of course he's right. He's spent many summers with her where sandwiches are a very common meal.

"Why are you being so nice to me?" she snaps, a little harsher than she intended. Her mind was set to make her and Peeta's relationship as awkward as can be, but he's doing a pretty good job of making her feel completely comfortable, even though it should be completely awkward. Katniss's mind is confused because she doesn't know what she is supposed to make out of the situation.

He cocks his head to the left. "What do you mean?" He takes a bite out his own sandwich, which Katniss already knows what kind it is also. Ham on spicy Italian bread with mustard.

"How can you just sit here and act like we have been friends for the past six years?" The venom in her voice is less noticeable. If the tone impacted Peeta any, he did not let it show.

Peeta shrugs and a moment of silence passes between them. Suddenly, his eyes light up in excitement. "Do you remember that time in fourth grade when we skipped school?"

Katniss's face betrayed her with a side smile. She remembers that like it was yesterday. "Yes! I thought I was going to get in so much trouble." It's true, little ten-year-old Katniss believed that she would be grounded for life.

"We both called the school. I pretended to be your dad and you pretended to be your mom," Peeta says, relishing in the memory. He takes another bite out of his sandwich.

"I can't believe the teachers didn't put two and two together. I mean, both of us not being there? They must have known something was up." She laughed and she realized this is the first real conversation she has had with Peeta in a really long time. She didn't want it to end, but she has a way of making everything good end and making it awkward.

"Do you remember where we went?" He answered his own rhetorical question. "That was the day you showed me the meadow-"

"Oh, you mean the meadow where you got poison ivy?" She elbowed his arm and was mentally shocked at how easy it became to talk to him.

He shakes his head, silently laughing. He finds it so easy to laugh around her. "It was a _bitch_ hiding that. Thank God your mom's a doctor and you knew exactly how to handle it."

She is quiet for a little bit, think and processing. Then, she mumbles, "It was so easy back then." He gave her a questioning look, so she elaborated. "It was so easy when we were little. Just two kids, not a care in the world. Best friends, even. I don't even know how it got so messed up, but it did."

They both knew how it got messed up. It was ruined the moment Katniss punched Delly Cartwright in the face. But neither of them said anything. She just continued. "Now we just have so much to worry about. School, college, the future…relationships." She stumbled over the last word.

Neither of them knew exactly what to say after that. Katniss knew she had messed it up. She knew that when it came to Peeta Mellark, she messes up her words and makes both of them feel awkward. She hates the fact that she makes it weird and she hates that fact that she cares that she makes it weird. Why should she care? She hasn't cared for the past six years, why should she care now?

She knows she's lying to herself. She knows that over the years, she has cared. But she would never admit that out loud to anyone, not even Madge or Annie.

"Katniss," he says suddenly. "Look, I know things have been-"

"Awkward?" She cut in.

"A little messed up," he finishes, raising an eyebrow at her suggestion. He shakes his head and continues. "I just want you to know, that I want us to be friends. I want it to be how it used to be, where we could literally talk about anything that's on our minds." The thing that doesn't cross his mind is the fact that they were kids back then. Maybe they have just grown apart? It's only natural. So many best friends grow apart over years.

The look they were giving each other could only prove false.

Katniss looked at him. Could they be friends again? Yes, she's sure they could. Does she want to be? Not sure. She thinks about Delly Cartwright, but not the Delly Cartwright from fifth grade. She thinks about the now, fully grown and developed Delly Cartwright, having her hands all over Peeta. She thinks about them kissing and him telling her sweet things and him touching her.

Ultimately, she wants to punch Delly Cartwright in the face all over again.

He must have seen her internal conflict, because he back tracks. "I mean, if you don't want to, that's alright. You can just pretend I'm not here and on the weekends we could just not-"

"Peeta," she smiles a little bit, trying to reassure him. She definitely does not want to tell him about her internal conflict, so she tries to make it believable. For now, she chose to be his friend. They were childhood friends, but even if she had not punch Delly, would they have grown apart? Katniss doesn't know. What she does know, is that lunch ended all too quickly. The rest of the day when she couldn't see him went by all too slow. She just wanted to sit there all day, savoring her time with him.

She goes to sleep early that night. She tells herself it's because she doesn't want to wake up in the morning with bags under her eyes. But secretly, she knows the only reason why is so that morning will come faster and she will get to see him again.


	3. Chapter 3

**Just realized that I never disclaimed The Hunger Games, but then again, I never claimed it either.**

**_Disclaimer: I do not own any part of _The Hunger Games_ by Suzanne Collins, only she does and I am merely a tribute desperately trying to publish my imagination in this part of a fictional world via internet. K thanks._  
**

**__Now, on with the story.**

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Katniss spent the night at Annie's house. She likes sleeping over there before she has to work in the morning because Annie lives so close to the bakery. She can sleep in an extra 45 minutes because she doesn't have to walk all around town. Annie sometimes drives her to work also, when she's in a good mood. Then again, Annie is always in a good mood because she spends most of her time at Finnick's house after Katniss leaves. Finnick always put her in a good mood.

"When are you and Finnick going to admit you love to one another and just get married?" Katniss retorts, pulling down the mirror in Annie's car.

Annie tries to hide her blush. "I don't know what you're talking about," she answers, all too innocently. "We aren't in love."

Katniss rolls her eyes. "It's been like, nine years! You have been saying for the past week that you will tell him how you feel, but you haven't." She looks at her friend seriously. "Tell him today."

Annie pulls into the front of the bakery and put it in park. "I'm scared, Katniss." Annie isn't one to really show her emotions- another back step in her relationship with Fininick. Annie is nice, but stubborn and isn't one to open her heart out to anyone. Her admission to being scared is about as open as it gets, so she had Katniss's attention fully. "After my parent's divorce," she swallows. "I-I just can't imagine going through that. I spent so many nights listening to them fight, hearing her cry. He cheated on her so many times. I'm glad he's gone, and if there's anything my father has taught me, it's that love isn't worth the pain that comes along with it."

"Annie," Katniss catches her attention. "Is Finnick like your father?"

"No, but-"

"No! He isn't! You have known Finnick you're entire life, you used to take bubble baths with him, he is one of your best friends. He would lay down and die before he ever hurt you and you know that."

Annie tries to say something. "But!"

"No buts! Go to his house, and tell him how you feel."

They stared each other off. Instantly, Annie is reminded of the reason why she loves her friendship with Katniss- she isn't afraid to tell her how it is. She doesn't sugarcoat and only wants the best for her best friend. Madge, even though she loves the girl to death, would have never stood up to Annie or said anything that Katniss just said.

"Thank you, Katniss," she smiled.

Katniss returned the smile and hopped out the car, entering the bakery. The familiar scene of bread entered her nostrils. She stood there at the doorway, just sniffing the air around her. It smells like cheesebuns. Definitely cheesebuns.

"What the hell are you doing?"

With a blush on her cheeks, Katniss snaps her eyes open to find an amused looking Peeta staring at her. She realizes that she was just standing there with the door ajar, sniffing around like an idiot. She mentally slaps herself.

"Cheesebuns," she acclaimed. "I smelled cheesebuns." She prays that he knows her well enough to know that her cheesebun weakness can account for her odd behavior.

He suddenly stands up straight. "Oh yeah, I just got a batch out, want some?"

The two of them head in the back, until she realizes how early it is. "Why are you up so early?"

His smile falters. "Oh, uh, my dad. He's sick so I'm taking over for the day." The baker hardly ever just takes the day off because he feels like it. He's one of those men that always needs to be working and loves to work and highly believes that the man should be the main financial support system.

Katniss raises an eyebrow but doesn't question it.

She decides that lunch is her favorite part of the day. The two of them talk, but lately they have been playing the "remember that time when" game. It started out cheerful and funny, but then slowly went in another direction.

"Remember that time you fell in that ant pile in front of my house?"

"Remember when you licked the frosting off a cake and that ugly mean woman from the Hob bought it?"

"Do you remember when you dated Delly Cartwright?" Katniss said this, without even thinking. Truth is, she's curious as hell what happened to them.

"Do you remember when you punched her in the face?" Peeta shot back, smirking into his lunch. That was the one of very few times he has ever seen Katniss Everdeen get physically violent with someone. Everyone knows that she is very, _very_ capable of putting anyone in a coma.

She bit her lip, trying to hide a smile. "No."

"I do," he whispered, the tone all of a sudden becoming serious. "Why'd you do it? Last time I checked, that's kinda what ruined our friendship."

She tries to ignore his question, mostly because she does not know the answer. "What ever happened to you and her?"

He smirks. "You answer my question, and I'll answer yours."

"I don't know why I hit her," she mumbles into her lunch. She is partly telling the truth. She knows that she was mad, but she doesn't exactly know what she was mad about. "I mean, we got into that fight the night before, and I don't know…" Vaguely, she remembers the two of them being on her porch and he was talking about a girl from their class's breasts. He kept mentioning how big they were and he just wanted to touch them one day and how he loves to stare at them. She remembers something boiling down at the pit of her belly, but as soon as she remembers the feeling, she shuts down the flashback all together.

Peeta pondered this for a little bit. "I didn't really like her, you know. She just kinda came up to me like, 'you're my boyfriend' and I was going to tell you at lunch but you hit her before I could spit it out," He smiled, mostly at the look on Delly's face when she realized poor little innocent Katniss Everdeen did some serious damage to her nose. "Anyways," he shakes his head, "We stopped talking about a week after that. I felt bad for not talking to her, but then she started dating Cato, and then I didn't feel that bad."

Katniss took it all in, all the unanswered questions she has had for so long. Peeta spoke up again, "We never officially broke up, so technically, we could still be dating." Peeta smirked as Katniss rolled her eyes.

"Why did you get mad at me the night before?" It didn't dawn on her that Peeta had unanswered questions too, but she didn't want to spend this entire day answering the unanswerable. Peeta obviously does not remember the fight they had, only because it stuck out in Katniss's head, but not in his.

She blushed and pushed her chair forward to get up. "We better open the shop back up."

And that was the end of that conversation.

Katniss had not realized quite how many customers the bakery gets every day. Most of them come in the afternoons because they are getting off work, but a lot of elderly couples come in to buy some bread during the day. This is probably because they are retired. If a person in District 12 is retired, they are probably financially stable, which means they can afford bread. For example, this one couple, Gleniss and Earl come in every Monday morning to buy a tray of muffins and two cookies. Earl retired from the coal mines a few years back and Gleniss used to be a school teacher.

As the weeks pass, the same people keep showing up and she starts to make conversation with all of them.

"Good morning, Mr. Richard. How's the grandkids?"

Mr. Richard is a retired tax collector. He has eleven grandchildren, which is why Katniss always asks about them. With eleven of them, something new always has to happen.

Along with her work routine, comes her lunch routine. Her favorite part of the day.

"We should like, go out to lunch one day," Peeta suggests. Katniss lifts an eyebrow, but doesn't say anything. "I mean, we always spend our lunch all cramped up in here, so why don't we go out?"

She can't help but notice that there could have been a possible double meaning in his words, but she doubts he would mean anything like that. "Who says I would want to spend my lunch with you?" She teases, slightly touching his forearm. She takes advantage of any reason to touch him, even if it is slightly.

Another one of his adorable smirks covers his face. "Me! Because you love spending time with me."

Katniss grunts, probably a sound that would be made in disagreement, but she knows all too well that it's deceiving.

All too soon, the two teenagers open back up the bakery. Katniss does her daily routine of straightening up to muffins and 'fronting' all of labels, which just means she has to turn them all so that they match with their labels. Her focus turned towards the dust that was on the display case.

Suddenly, the bell attached to the door chimes and pairs of foot steps fall in place.

"Everdeen?" Katniss's head snapped up so fast she thought she would get whiplash.

Marvel, one of Peeta's idiot friends, said her name. Marvel Anthony, Cato Evans, and Gale Hawthorne are standing in the middle of the bakery. Her first guess is that they are obviously looking for Peeta. Cato sort of smirked to himself, while Gale shifted uncomfortably on his two feet. Gale and Peeta had the better relationship out of the group because they were so much like each other. Cato and Marvel are cool, but can't be taken seriously. For example, when Peeta's brother died, Gale knew exactly how to handle that situation.

"He's in the back," she answered the unspoken question smoothly, and she is somewhat proud of herself because of how she handled the potentially awkward situation.

Marvel and Cato almost immediately ran in the back, but Gale stood behind for a second, just to say hi. And for an instant, it seemed like it did years ago when she was Peeta's best friend. Katniss and Gale were never exactly friends, but they were only around each other because of Peeta.

Gale followed behind the other two and all too soon, the clattering of pots and pans, along with a "Cato, don't touch that!" This statement was followed by Cato cursing loudly throughout the bakery.

She guesses that he tried to go for one of the loaves of bread that were still cooling, burning himself in the process.

Katniss tried to ignore the fact that his friends were here. She reminded herself that it's time to get back to the real world, where school will be starting up very soon and they both have different friends. They have different social lives. Peeta can't afford to like someone like Katniss, who isn't exactly from their social group. Peeta gets along with everyone, but Katniss isn't exactly the most liked girl in the school either. Most of the girls are afraid of her and she's known as a bitch by most of the guys, but that's only because she isn't scared to give anyone a piece of her mind.

Except Peeta, but he seems to always be an exception.


	4. Chapter 4

**A/N: Here is another long chapter, a product of my summer reading procrastination.**

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It's mid-July. Heat comes off in waves throughout the entire day and almost all of District 12's electricity bill has doubled over the summer, including the bakery. This means Peeta's mother forbids the air conditioning in the bakery and returns to the use of an old plug-in fan. Katniss has her own at the cash drawer and the back kitchen has two of them. This air conditioning dilemma has been going on for a little over a week and Katniss already feels herself losing a couple of pounds due to the excessive sweating.

She used to wear khaki pants and a shirt undernearth her uniform polo, but not anymore. Instead of the thick and tight polo, the bakery settled for a lose fitting t-shirt that is not black and instead of the pants, she's wearing shorts.

Peeta Mellark has no complaints.

Usually, he would be awake and working before she even arrived, taking a fresh batch of cheesebuns or raspberry muffins out of the oven because he stopped sleeping in.

Not today.

Mr. Mellark shrugged it off, but Katniss knows better. She has a gut wrenching feeling all day without his presence. She is overwhelmed with curiosity and worry, but since the baker is not so worried, she shouldn't be either, should she?

Peeta does not officially have to be in the bakery until 3pm but he is normally here for free labor anyway.

Katniss deliberated in her head all day, wondering if she should go upstairs to check and see if he is okay. But she would need the baker's permission first. Wouldn't it be rude to just up and walk in his house? Maybe she should ask.

"Mr. Jonathan, do you think it's possible I could go up and just…check on him, possibly?" She bit her lip as Mr. Mellark sighed.

"Katniss, I don't know. He's having a bad day." This made Katniss's thoughts run wild with worry. She calmed down once she reasoned that it can't be that bad if his father does not look all that worried.

Mr. Mellark saw the look of disappointment dawn upon her face and he immediately felt for the little girl. She is obviously deeply concerned for his son, but he can't decide if Peeta would be okay with letting someone into his room to look for him. He doesn't know if Peeta wants to be bothered. But the truth is, the baker has seen the way the two have interacted over the few weeks and automatically knew that Peeta wouldn't hesitation to let Katniss visit him.

So he smiled and nodded and her.

Without hesitation, she ran for the stairs.

As soon as she hits the hallway, she knows something is wrong. It's way, _way_ too quiet.

Her father has always told her that she has the lightest footsteps he has ever heard, but it was so quiet in the Mellark house, she can hear them. The floor creaks right in the middle of the living room. She heads towards the hallway that held all of the bedrooms. There are three of them and on the other side of the house is the master bedroom. Katniss notices something strange about the hallway. Something is off.

Then, she sees it.

The very last room on the left is wide open. That is the door that constantly stays shut and no one ever goes in.

It's Steven Mellark's room.

Peeta's door in slightly ajar, but she creeps in to take a peek anyway. Even through the small crack that she has made with the door, she can see how much change Peeta's room has gone through. The twin size bed that used to be by the window was now a queen sized bed on the completely opposite wall, in the corner. His dresser that used to be covered in baseball and basketball stickers is now a firm and wooden dresser with a bedside table to match. Also, he traded in his basketball goal for a fifty-four inch flat screen television. The room is completely dark, and she suddenly notices why.

Peeta has pulled his dark curtains to where absolutely no sunlight can be shown through. His only source of light that is present is the light escaping from the hallway and alarm clock that beams the time on the ceiling.

She's finished focusing on the room, now she's here to help Peeta.

She sees one of his feet poking out from the foot of the bed, but that's all she sees. His whole body is drowned in covers and blankets and pillows. He's awake though. She knows this because Peeta tends to make a heavy breathing sound when in a deep sleep, but right now, he's just breathing ever so slightly. It's so silent in the room that it's all she really hears.

The door opens up a little bit more and moves into the room, making sure not trip over the clothes that are thrown askew around the room. Her eyes wander off to the green and blue plaid boxers that are on the ground.

She kneels down next to the bed, very desperate to find Peeta's face. She lifts up a pillow and finds it.

His cheeks are slightly red and he has blonde curls tousled down to his eyebrows. He is kind of sweaty so some of his curls are sticking to his forehead. Without even thinking, she moves the hair over to the side of his face so she can examine it. As she does this, he opens his eyes.

Peeta watches her as she props her forearm on the edge of the bed and rests her chin on top that, slightly smiling at him. Her gaze drops from his face to the forest green baseball cap he's desperately clutching in his hand.

As soon as she sees the "District 5" logo on the cap, she knows exactly what is going on.

He's grieving. Mourning.

He misses Steven.

As if reading her thoughts, he speaks up, but not in the upbeat voice Katniss has grown to love, but a raspy and quiet voice. "He wanted to move up to District 5 after graduation and go to a trade school to be an electrician." Katniss had not known that. Something tells her that that little piece of information was something only Peeta knew about his late brother.

Peeta shifts around and rolls over to make enough room for Katniss. He is silently inviting her into his bed and she blushes at the thought.

Her blush only deepens whenever she reaches out to touch him and is met with bare skin.

He's shirtless.

And suddenly she wants to touch more of him. But she pushes those thoughts as far down as she possibly can and focuses on what he's doing. His arm is snaked under her neck and he rests his other hand on her stomach. It amazes her just how he can act like this is the most casual thing in the world. Snuggling in his dark bedroom, half naked. No biggie. She has never been this close to a male human being before, but the feeling excites her. He feels her freeze at his touch, but his hand remains planted exactly where it is.

However, he makes no sexual advances at all. He just stares at his ceiling and sighs.

"This morning, I got up and went to go brush my teeth, but the window AC in his room was making the most aggravating sound ever." He swallows, "I just went in there to unplug it. Next thing I know, I see the hat hanging on the bed post." If possible, he clutches the poor baseball cap a little harder. "Then, I was gone."

"It's okay to mourn, you know. It doesn't mean you're weak." She speaks for the first time. Finally, he looks her right in the eye. Katniss notices that his eyes are puffy and he has probably been crying. She is brought back to that day six years ago. Peeta had just turned eleven and he refused to get out of his bed. Mrs. Mellark begged Katniss to come over and talk some sense into him and make him get up. It ended up exactly like this time, expect Peeta cried into her shoulder the entire time and he was entirely clothed. But then again, she would never complain about the last one.

"I know," he asserts. "It's just one minute, I'll close my eyes and see him smiling at me, messing with my hair." Slightly, he closes his eyes as if he's giving himself a visual aid. "And the next, I see him laying down in his bed, completely cold and unbudging, with a bottle of pills clutched in his hand."

Immediately, she plants her palm against his cheek. Peeta's cheek is hot and her palm is cool. He doesn't flinch away from the temperature difference, though. If anything, he invites it and finds comfort. "I'm so sorry you had to go through that."

Everyone apologized to Peeta when Steven died, but only Katniss's apology seemed to have a real effect on him.

"Mom blames herself," he says quietly. He adds in one more thing, practically whispering. "I blame her too."

He then starts to speak a little louder. "She was always pushing him, run the bakery, get this education, get this college degree, go to this district, marry this woman and settle down to have children who can run the bakery. She has always had that pressure on him since he is the oldest. She doesn't do that to me and Rye. It was only him."

Just talking about this subject makes him feel tears prick in his eyes. He buries his face is the small crease of her arm and underarm, tightening the grip around her waist and entangling his legs around hers. Instantly, they both seem to notice just how close he is to her breasts.

It dawns on them how much has changed in the past six years. Her breasts have grown- oh _how_ her breasts have grown. He didn't completely notice how big and round they were until he was practically pressed against them. He notices how completely smooth and shaved her long legs are. Likewise, she takes the opportunity to put her hands on his shoulder, his very muscular shoulder. Gently, she slides her hand down from his muscular shoulder to his muscular waist. At the same time, he releases the death grip from around her waist to gently relax on her hip. From her hip, he travels down the side of her thigh, savoring the touch of her skin. It is only the moment that he reaches the plump and firmness of her round butt that they realize; they are groping each other in his bed.

Her heart accelerates and they both jump back, effectively pushing Peeta off the bed.

"Sorry, uh, I-" Peeta starts, recovering and popping back up from his fall.

Katniss stands up quickly, standing straighter than normal. "No, it's cool. I better get back down anyway. Your dad will probably be looking for me." It amazes her how normal her voice sounds. Then again, she's always good at putting on a front.

"Y-yeah, um. I guess I'll start working too." With him being all upright, Katniss can finally see him in all his glory of no shirt on. He's pale, no doubt, but his skin is smooth and flawless. Broad and muscular chest with a hint of a six pack. He has a small happy trail at the bottom of his stomach. As she left that room, she's left with the curiosity of where that happy trail leads too.

Katniss has spent the past few night at Annie Cresta's house, along with Madge. All they can talk about is how Annie finally opened her heart up to Finnick. Annie didn't give up all the details to their conversation at his house because there are some things that she keeps between the two of them.

"And, he kissed me."

Madge gasps. The poor girl honestly looks like she is about to cry. Then again, she has always been a sucker for sappy love stories.

Annie goes into detail about how their first kiss went and how she loves the taste of his mouth. Katniss's mind wonders off the what the Mellark's boys mouth tastes like. Briefly, she imagines herself finding out.

Her mind snaps back to reality when Annie starts to whine about how much Katniss works.

"I have eight hundred dollars saved up, just from _the_ beginning of the summer," Katniss retorts, swallowing the last of her homemade lemonade.

"That's not the only reason," Madge smirks. "Her and Peeta have also gotten quite comfortable together."

Katniss blushes and slaps Madge a little harder than she should have. She forgets how fragile Madge is, but with Annie, she could slap harder. Madge continues while rubbing her sore mark. "I walked in the other day to buy some toast for my dad and her face was bright red as soon as he came into view," she reports to Annie.

Annie sits back in her chair, swishing her lemonade back and forth, as if thinking. "So you have the hots for the Mellark kid?"

"No!" Katniss acclaims, all too quickly.

Katniss decides not to tell them about to incident in his room. Finnick and Annie have known each other just as long as her and Peeta have, but she does not think they have come anywhere close to doing that. She feels self-conscious as to what they would think of her.

Madge and Annie exchange a knowing glance and Annie rolls her eyes. "Yeah, _o_-kay."


	5. Chapter 5

**I received two very enthusiastic anonymous reviews that just made me jump up from I was sitting and get started on this chapter. I hope you all enjoy!**

**And I would also like to that you all for the reviews and story alerts. **

**Disclaimer**** - I don't own Hunger Games.**

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It baffles Katniss Everdeen how the Mellark family can comsume all these breads and carbs and not seem to gain any weight. Peeta is so fit, so muscular. Mrs. Everdeen is so tiny, but seems to eat so many blueberry muffins everyday. Mr. Everdeen has a slight belly but that's only from his excessive comsumption of alcohol over the years. He's not an alcoholic, but he does enjoy his fine share of wines from all over the district.

Katniss has gained exactly seven pounds since she has been working for the family. She promises herself that she won't have another delicious pastry from the bakery for the rest of the summer. And if Peeta forces her to take some goodies home, she will simply give it to Primrose. This promise is proving to be extremely difficult as Peeta ices cupcakes. These aren't just any homemade ones, they are the fancy ones- with rich vanilla icing that is creamy but thick at the same time. The thought makes her mouth water.

Peeta looks at her carefully. They have not really talked since the day in his bedroom. It has been a little tense.

"Would you…like one?" He tries to keep the amused expression off his face, but he can't help it. She glaring at the cupcakes as if she's about to attack them.

"No!" She snaps all too quickly, as if he offended her.

He eyes her skeptically. "Okay."

He knows something is wrong. She's unnecessarily and unusually quiet for the rest of the day, silently eating her sandwich at lunch and declining any kind of bread that Peeta throws her way.

"You love this stuff, what's going on?" Peeta's eyebrows knit in concern as he saunters over across the table from her and places a cheesebun in front of the two of them. He notices the way she eyeballs it and then snaps her eyes back to his.

"I'm getting fat!" she cries.

Peeta gives her a look that is similar to the look he would give her if she grew three heads. He chuckles a little bit until the serious look on her face seems unwavering. "Oh, you're serious."

She gives him an annoyed look. This is why she was skeptical as to telling him about her inner dilemma; he doesn't take it seriously. Then again, he's a guy. Madge would have understood this perfectly and would have given clear instructions on what to properly eat and what exercises would work out best. But, no. Peeta just _has_ to be a guy.

"Katniss, you're not fat," he tries to reassure her. "Eat the cheesebun."

She stares holes into his forehead, as if he had just told her in walk into an open flame. She thinks about how great the melted mozzarella cheese on toasted swirl of bun would taste in her mouth, but she swallows those hungry thoughts down and refuses.

"Eat it."

"No."

"Katniss, eat the dang cheeseb-"

"No."

"Please?"

"No."

Peeta irritation was showing through.

Katniss declares, "Real friends don't make you eat cheesebuns." Peeta stares at her with a small smile on his face.

There's that word again, friends. She despises that word. It seems like such an understatement when she's referring to Peeta. Friends is something she could use to describe Madge, Finnick, and Annie because she trusts them, but she finds herself thinking of Peeta on a completely alternate level, much different than Madge, Annie, and Finnick. She settles with the thought that the word "friend" does not settle right in her stomach. She feels like there should be more. They promised each other to be friends, but she can't just deny her uncomfortable and odd feelings.

Her thoughts drift back to the other day. Friends _definitely _don't do that.

"Katniss, you're not fat and no where near fat. You're absolutely stunning and beautiful."

And friends definitely don't say things like that. Finnick is her guy friend but he would never tell her what Peeta just told her. On the inside, she panics and feels as if her internal organs are boiling up and threatening to spill out of her belly button. But, she puts up that front that she mastered years ago, and snaps back wittingly. "Oh, no. You're absolutely stunning and gorgeous." This shifts the conversation from serious to playful.

Peeta smirks and flicks his hair out of his eyes. Katniss decides that she loves his eyes. "I know, I know. You totally want me."

This conversation drifted from serious and odd complimenting to outright flirting. She thinks back to yesterday. She hates the fact that she has been thinking about this so often. But in his bedroom, she felt so incredibly safe, so wanted. She kind of wants to go back up there again and just stay there.

She rolls her eyes and ignores the warm feeling in her belly. "You wish."

He quivers his mouth to the left, as if to saying something else, but he chooses against it.

"We should…hangout. You know, outside of working hours," he suggests, with a heart melting smile.

Once again, the boy has heart heart in her throat and her brain turning into jelly. He softly brazes her skin on accident and it feels numb. She bites the inside of her cheek to keep the blush from rising. She absolutely cannot deny these feelings any longer or else she's going to simply explode.

Maybe Madge and Annie are right. What if she does have a thing for Peeta Mellark? Would that be so bad? They have totally different friends. What would people think? Then again, she has never been one to care what other people thought because she isn't afraid to show them right then and there, that she can't beat the crap out of them. Would he care?

Wait, she's getting her hopes up. They had been friends for so long. And they just started talking again, he probably wouldn't even think about her in that way. After all, it's only Katniss Everdeen. Ask anyone in school, and they would never be able to see her dating anyone, ever.

Her stony expression softens a bit. "Yeah, I would actually like that." It doesn't surprise her that she's telling the truth.

It's Sunday afternoon. The two are both off, but neither of them want to seem like they are excited about today. Katniss agreed to meet at the Mellark house for 3pm promptly. She hung around the house with her little sister, Primrose, for the majority of the day. Her parents know that her and Peeta are friends again, but she makes sure she doesn't tell them the extent of their friendship.

It seems so odd, showing up in her work place for something other than work. The bakery is closed, but she walks right in anyway, hearing the family chime of the bell dincating that someone has walked through the door.

No one is in the lobby though. Or the back. So she walks up the stairs. No one if home except Peeta, of course. ;/:?

He straightening up his room, concentrating thoroughly on trying to even out the way his comforter flows off the side, so they both evenly match. The sight is comical because his expression says it's the most puzzling thing he has ever come across.

"Hey," she says, her way of announcing that she's in the room.

His head snaps up and a dazzling smile is instantly lifted.

"You cleaned your room, I'm impressed." She carefully makes her way in through the doorway and sits down at his desk, swiveling the spinney chair to face him. It amazes her how comfortable she feels in this room, after so many years.

"Yeah, well the other day I wasn't exactly expecting company." He gave her a grin and plopped down on his bed.

An uncomfortable silence floated throughout the room. Now that they are actually hanging out, neither of them know exactly what to do. They both know they can't go into town in public, the gossip that surround District 12 is terrible and if one person knows, the whole district will. Katniss isn't exactly one for gossip, but her family has been the topic of discussion on more than one occasion.

"Stickers," she mumbles. "Your stickers are gone."

Confusion is apparent on his features until his gaze floats to where hers is. She's looking at his desk, where hundreds, maybe even thousands, of stickers used to be. Most of them were basketball or baseball stickers. Some Pokemon. Secretly, Katniss threw in some Barbie ones to make her mark.

She was about to ask, but he answered for her before she ahd the chance to. "I got that new desk in sixth grade, as a birthday present." Hearing the words, birthday present, sends Katniss into a flashback from when they were fourteen. It was Peeta's birthday and the bakery hit hard times the months surrounding. The Everdeen family received an early bonus check from the Capitol for her father working in the coalmines. She bought him a necklace for his birthday. It was nothing extravagant by any means, just a silver chain with his birthstone places throughout a beautiful design. She snuck it into his locker on his birthday and he wore it for the following years. The chain grew too tight, so he eventually to stop wearing it. She figures he probably threw it out buy now. There's no way he kept it for this long. He doesn't even know who gave it to him.

"And you're TV," she states, matter-of-factly.

"Hey! I'm sure your room has changed a lot too," he smiles brightly at her, shifting on his bed to where he is sitting up and facing her. "I'm sure that Barbie doll house isn't in there anymore."

And he's right, the doll house isn't there anymore. The day she punched Delly was the day she ran straight home and threw out thing that was childish.

Katniss's phone started wildly vibrating in her pocket. She knew that this meant Annie, Madge, and Finnick decided to start a group message, but she ignores it and put her cell phone on Peeta's desk. He narrows his eyes at the vibrations. "You're popular today. Your boyfriend must be looking for you." He smirks at her shocked expression, because they both know that Katniss has never been anywhere near getting into a relationship.

Her thoughts drifted to boyfriends and Peeta. Peeta is actually the closest thing that comes to anything near a relationship. But at the the same time, he doesn't. Nothing concerning Peeta makes a whole lot of sense at the moment, but she's still trying to figure it out.

She ignores his boyfriend comment, however. But she decides that she wants to get closer to him. The space from the chair to his bed is excruciating and she can't handle it.

She scoots her chair closed to him and Peeta's eyes widen a little in surprise. Katniss racks her brain for an excuse as to why she just did that. "Sorry, I couldn't really hear you." But Peeta knows good damn well that Katniss could hear him perfectly fine. He doesn't protest, however. He just gives her a lazy lop-sided smile.

"If you wanted to be closer to me, all you had to do was say so. No need to make up excuses," he whispers that last sentence and moves his face closer to hers. He seems to be enjoying the way her blush deepens and she can't seem to take her eyes off his lips.

She suddenly realizes that he's trying to get her to crack. He likes making her stumble on her words like this, so she decides to take charge. A smirk plays on her lips. She moves from her position on the computer chair and moves to his lap, straddling his legs and making her face inches apart from his. The smirk vanishes from his face, and suddenly the tables have turned. Because now, she is the one that's making him stumble over his words.

"Is this close enough for you?" she whispers in his ear. She hears him swallow loudly. His heartbeat drastically changes. Even though Katniss puts up a cool and smooth face, she's frantic on the inside. There's nothing in this world that could calm her down now. She's scared. Scared because this has never happened before. Scared because if someone found out about the position they were in, they would think the worst of her. But Peeta isn't one to kiss and tell. She trusts him with everything in her soul. This is the same Peeta that taught her how to ride a bicycle, baked thousands of batches of cookies with, and grew up with. He never changed. And strangely, she feels like she has always wanted this. She feels so entirely terrified, but comfortable at the same time because she knows this is right.

And then, their lips touch. Her heart goes into her throat. The feel of his lips on hers is indescribeable. It starts off with them simply just grazing each other's lips. But then, they actually connect. He takes on full control and regains his composure, slightly part her mouth to allow him entry. Their grip tightens on each other. Her hands find themselves in his hair and his find their way to the small of her back. They're bodies are very still, trying to adjust to the shift in the room.

They come up for air. Both gasping, not really getting a hold of what just occurred.

She presses her palm to his chest. "Your heart is beating really fast."

He does the same. "So is yours." They laugh together, red cheeks and all, and continue to kiss until they absolutely cannot kiss any longer.


End file.
